Scripture Alone Is Sufficient

And now, O Israel, give heed to the statutes and the ordinances which I teach you, and do them; that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, gives you. You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it; that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

Deuteronomy 4:1-2

It is perverse for corrupt, fallen, and sinful men to argue that men should be given authority. Yet we see everywhere in the world people arguing exactly that.

Politicians jockey for position and power, arguing all the while that everyone should follow them and not their opponent.

Priests and pastors preach from the pulpit that people should believe as they believe. Some will go so far as to say those who do not believe as they believe are not of the body of Christ.

On social media and throughout regular media, we see “influencers” and all manner of media celebrities telling people not just what they should do but how they should think, and what opinions they should hold.

Our culture is awash with people arguing, in various forms, “follow me!”

Should we follow such people? Can we trust such people to lead us in a good direction? The answers are no….and no.

People are not trustworthy. We are fallen. We are corrupt. We are sinners. That is the reality of humanity, and that reality makes humanity a poor choice when it comes to trusting.

If we cannot trust people, who can we trust? Who should we trust?

The answer, of course, is always that we should trust God. That is the very essence of faith, a point powerfully articulated by the Apostle Paul in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” If we have “assurance”, if we have “conviction”, we have, by definition, “trust”. “Trust,” “faith,” “assurance,” and “conviction” are all synonyms of each other.

Jesus Himself teaches us to be skeptical of the teachings of men. He specifically warned His disciples to “beware the leaven of the Pharisees” in Matthew 16:6. He rebuked the Pharisees directly in Mark 7 when He called them out for elevating their traditions above God’s Law. Jesus denounced the Pharisees again in Matthew 23, when He admonished His disciples not to seek out titles and the accoutrements of status such as being called “rabbi.”

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus was never complimentary of how men wielded any authority. We certainly cannot read the Gospels and come away with a view that Jesus wanted people to follow anyone but God.

That we should just “trust God” is one of those trite formulations that is easy to say, difficult at times to comprehend, and extremely difficult on most days to actually do. We might tell ourselves—and others—to “let go and let God,” but how often do we actually put that dictum into practice? For myself the answer is “not nearly often enough.”

How do we put trust in God into daily practice? A good place to start—perhaps the best place—is with God’s Word. Start with Scripture.

One point about Scripture we must apprehend straight away: we can either believe that Scripture is God’s Word or we disbelieve that Scripture is God’s Word. For the Christian, there can be no alternative but that Scripture is God’s Word. The Apostle Paul explicitly teaches this in 2 Timothy 3.

For faith, Scripture is always sufficient. For faith, Scripture alone is sufficient.

Yet we do not need to lean solely on Paul for this teaching. Psalm 119:105 is an explicit affirmation of the power of the word of God. In Isaiah 40, the prophet reminds Israel that God’s Word is eternal.

Scripture, both Old Testament and New, is indisputably meant to be received as the Word of God. That is an essential element of faith that we cannot avoid. For the Christian, there can be no other faith, no other choice.

When we read Scripture, we are by definition immersing ourselves in God’s Word. When we search Scripture for guidance, we are by definition seeking out God’s Law. When we look towards Scripture to crystallize our choices in various circumstances, we are by definition opening ourselves up to God’s Will.

We cannot do any of that merely by listening to a priest or a pastor, nor by reading what other men have written outside of Scripture. No sermon can ever be God’s Word.

My weekly sermons are certainly not God’s Word!

Does this mean we should ignore what priests and pastors say? Should we put aside what Christian writers say about God, Jesus, and Scripture?

Hardly.

Ideally, sermons are written by well-meaning people calling our attention to particular points within Scripture, and specific teachings. Ideally, sermons present a rational and coherent application of Scripture to a specific issue, be it a theological issue or a practical one.

Not all sermons are ideally written, however. Not all professed Christian writers put even their own teachings into practice in their own lives. Some sermons are written more to puff up the pretense of authority claimed by a church, or a priest, than they are written to glorify God.

How can we discern which sermons are well written and which sermons are corruptly written? Again, we can look to Scripture.

Whatever the pastor preaches from the pulpit must reconcile back to Scripture or it is a teaching of man and not God. Only Scripture stands as the Word of God—the position of faith that Scripture is God’s Word necessarily means that only Scripture can be God’s Word.

Everything else comes from men. Everything else can only carry weight if it also carries Scripture. We know this because Scripture makes it quite clear this is so.

The admonition from Deuteronomy is repeated multiple times in the Old and New Testament. Proverbs 30:6 warns us not to add to God’s Word. The Apostle Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 4:6 that we should “not go beyond what is written”. In 2 Timothy 4:2 he charges us to “preach the word.”

A moment’s reflection reminds us why it is important not to pretend we can stretch and rewrite Scripture: As is made clear also in multiple passages, only God has authority; men do not.

When people invent rituals, traditions, and teachings which cannot be found within Scripture, which cannot be reconciled back to Scripture, they are by definition declaring their authority to add to God’s Word—a stance which is definitionally false. All authority has been given to Jesus—Matthew 28 tells us this explicitly in the Great Commission; as all authority goes to Jesus, there is no authority left for men to claim.

When people expound on Scripture, root their arguments in Scripture, and build ritual and tradition around Scripture, there can be the hope that others will listen, that others will take heed, that others will draw closer to God in consequence. We lose that hope when we stray from Scripture.

When people expound on Scripture, for their arguments to carry weight they must not merely quote isolated verses. They must view passages in context—and the ultimate context is always the whole of Scripture. Passages must be read critically, and ideally with a view towards how teachings may be applied in the real world. In each of my weekly sermons I strive to bring that sense of connectedness to the real world in which we all live, with no doubt varying degrees of success.

When people expound on Scripture, we do best if we are willing to challenge our apprehension of particular verses. When we read Scripture, we do best if we read as if to prepare to defend Scripture. If someone, believer or nonbeliever, wishes to challenge our understanding of Scripture, we do best if we are always ready to respond with substantive, honest, and Scripturally sound rebuttals.

When people expound on Scripture, we do well to consider the structure and logic inhabiting the text. The Law given to Moses on Mount Sinai is first expounded upon by the Prophets of the Old Testament, then illuminated by Jesus during His Ministry here on Earth, and finally brought to Christian understanding in the Epistles of the New Testament. The Epistles of the New Testament must therefore reconcile to what Jesus teaches in the Gospels, and what Jesus teaches in the Gospels must be read with the Law and the Prophets in mind.

We know this must be so because Jesus Himself teaches that God’s Law has not changed and will not change (“not one jot or tittle shall pass away”). God’s Law is the same as it was in the time of Moses. Of that we can have no doubt.

When we strive to hear God’s Word, when we seek to know God’s Law, when we search to apprehend God’s Will, Scripture is always sufficient. Scripture alone is sufficient. Teachings of men, for all their eloquence and possible passion, are always insufficient.

My prayer this day is that people everywhere will diligently seek to hear God’s Word, know God’s Law, and apprehend God’s Will. My prayer this day is that people everywhere will be inspired to look to Scripture in this quest. My prayer this day is that people everywhere will recognize that only when men’s words reconcile back to Scripture can they carry any weight.

Only Scripture stands as the Word of God—the position of faith that Scripture is God’s Word necessarily means that only Scripture can be God’s Word.

Everything else comes from men. Everything else can only carry weight if it also carries Scripture. We know this because Scripture makes it quite clear this is so.

When we strive to hear God’s Word, when we seek to know God’s Law, when we search to apprehend God’s Will, Scripture is always sufficient. Scripture alone is sufficient. Teachings of men, for all their eloquence and possible passion, are always insufficient.